IndyCar return looks likely at Loudon

The CEO of Speedway Motorsports Inc., O. Bruton Smith, is known for making changes when he purchases a track.

The first thing was changing New Hampshire International Speedway to New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Next, he wants to put in lights.

But Smith has some sizeable changes in mind, as well, perhaps the biggest being the return of IndyCar racing.

The IRL hasn’t run here since 1998 — Tony Stewart won that one, incidentally — but Smith and NHMS General Manager Jerry Gappens are confident they can change that.

“I feel good about wanting them here,” Gappens said. “They’re working on the schedule.”

Gappens explained that Eddie Gossage, the general manager at Texas Motor Speedway, has been in negotiations with the IRL already.

Both Smith and Gappens were adamant that they were not thinking of losing one of the Cup weekends in favor of the IRL, but rather adding a big weekend to the track’s schedule.

Loudon has sold out all 27 Cup events that have run here, so it’s unlikely anyone would want to mess with that. Smith himself pointed out that racing “is like a second religion” in New England and that this track “reminds me a great deal of Bristol.”

It’s clear SMI is more interested in adding than taking away from fans.

Gappens even suggested having an all-open wheel weekend, saying that because the Whelen Modified Tour draws and races so well up here, it might add another race to its schedule.

“We could get the mods in here for a third weekend,” he said.

So New England Cup fans can rest easy — for the moment anyway — and open-wheel lovers may have reason to rejoice.

After a successful gamble Saturday that resulted in a win in the Nationwide Series race, Tony Stewart played it safe yesterday and came up short.

Smoke was out in front with less than 30 laps to go when the sixth caution of the day came out. Despite all the other top cars just getting a splash of fuel, crew chief Greg Zipadelli made the call to give Stewart fuel and right side tires. He fell to 13th by the time he got out of the pits.

Perhaps he could have used the fresh tires to make a run in the final laps, but a biblical downpour with 17 laps left brought out a red flag and NASCAR called the race.

“I don’t know how to put it into words right now,” Smoke said of his frustration level. “I guarantee you there’s a crew chief down there that they’re hiding sharp objects from right now.”

Stewart had led twice for a race-high 132 laps and looked to have the weekend sweep sewn up.

“(Zipadelli) gave me the best car I’ve had since Charlotte,” he said. “It’s just frustrating. There’s nothing you can do.”

But the Boylston native still took a moment to compliment Auburn native Jeff Fuller, who drove Manion’s modified car in Saturday’s New England 100.

“It was a nice top 10 effort from starting dead last,” Manion said.

Fuller’s ninth-place finish was the first time Manion’s car finished here, and Manion is looking forward to running it here again in September. Will Fuller be behind the wheel?

“(September) is way too far out,” Manion said.

Bob Bahre, the previous track owner who sold NHMS to O. Bruton Smith, stopped by to greet the fans before the race. For those concerned that Loudon might lose a race on the schedule, Bahre had a bit of reassurance.

“I told Bruton, ‘If you take a damn date out of here, you’ll be singing soprano.’ ”

Needless to say, the crowd went wild.

Driving the No. 17 in his 17th start at NHMS, Matt Kenseth sported the Boston Celtics logo on his car to celebrate the team’s 17th NBA championship. He nearly pulled off a superfecta, but instead finished 18th.

Casey Mears led 53 laps and now has 54 on the season. ... Pole-sitter Patrick Carpentier led the first four laps yesterday, the first of his Cup career. ... Toyota drivers have earned 25 top-five finishes and 37 top-10s so far this year. ... Stewart’s 132 laps led pushed him over the 10,000 mark for his Cup career. ... Regan Smith was the top-finishing rookie in 27th. ... Two drivers celebrated birthdays yesterday. Jeff Burton turned 41, while Martin Truex Jr. turned 28. ...